The invention relates to an apparatus for conveying a particulate material into a receiving space and also relates to a conveying method.
One known apparatus of this type has a receiving container with a conical bottom area at the discharge cross section—which can be closed by means of a flap. Opposite said discharge cross section, there is an air feed in the container head, a series of filter bags being mounted upstream of said air feed in the direction of the container space.
Such pneumatic conveying devices are currently used primarily in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, in the foodstuffs industry and other sectors of industry in which powder-like materials have to be conveyed. The great advantage of this conveying system is that it makes it possible to convey these substances in a controlled atmosphere. The known systems and devices for conveying powder-like materials and bulk materials are in most cases matched in terms of the design to the product that is to be conveyed, which is why these systems are often produced on a one-off basis; as a result, the costs of such systems—which operate relatively slowly and can only be cleaned with difficulty—are relatively high.
A further—very significant—problem with known systems is the clogging of the filter after a relatively short operating time, as a result of which disruptions often occur in the production of the powder-like materials and these disruptions lead to greater costs on account of stoppages in production.
BE 658 419 discloses a precipitation apparatus for precipitating solid material from the air stream of a pneumatic suction conveying system. A perforated piece of tube is used as filter device for the precipitation of the solid material. The air suction may be interrupted by a flap so that the granules adhering to the piece of tube can automatically fall down. The perforated piece of tube has relatively large pores and is rigid per se.
DE 196 54 648 A1 discloses a precipitation apparatus for the precipitation of powder-like materials having a small particle size from a stream of air. The solids/air mixture is passed into a separating chamber through a side entry opening. At the upper end of the longitudinal separating chamber there is a round filter which in terms of its particle size is suitable for retaining the solids. On the underside of the separating chamber there is a discharge opening.
It is the object of the present invention to eliminate the problems that occur with the systems and apparatuses described above, and to provide a conveying system which is suitable for different conveyed materials.